Depression and Tamoxifen – What You Need to Know

Depression is a condition that many women develop either during or after treatment for breast cancer. It is often serious and usually cannot be ignored or told to go away. It is something you need to discuss with your doctor if it is prolonged and/or interfering with the quality of your life. In past years there also has been some concern about women who take antidepressants and the effect these drugs might have on breast cancer recurrence. I wrote about this in 2007 after a study indicated that women on antidepressants had an increased risk for breast cancer and that there were some findings that antidepressants might interfere with the efficacy of tamoxifen, a highly prescribed drug designed to lower estrogen levels and reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

According to Dr. Ed Zimney, “At this year’s ASCO meeting there were two studies presented on the subject of tamoxifen and breast cancer recurrence in women taking various types of antidepressants. Unfortunately, they had conflicting results, with one study finding a significant impact of certain antidepressants on increasing the risk of recurrence and the other finding no impact. Further research is needed on this important question.” However, I believe that if you are someone who is taking a prescription antidepressant along with tamoxifen for breast cancer, you need to review this combination with your doctor. In fact, I wouldn’t wait for my three month check up, I would get in to see the doctor immediately and suggest he or she review this information with you. Your doctor will have access to this information and the ability to prescribe either another effective drug to deal with your depression or a different hormone treatment such as an aromatase inhibitor (usually prescribed for post-menopausal women).

Depression is a serious condition. The drugs to treat depression are effective, but deciding to stop taking the drugs on your own without a doctor’s supervision is considered unsafe. Please do not make any changes to your medication or stop taking anything until you see your doctor.

I am including a link below to more information about this study.

Medco Research on “Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence in Women Initiating Tamoxifen with CYP2D6 Inhibitors.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy-Ellen Kups, RN

Kathy-Ellen is a Registered Nurse living in Michigan. In 2003, Kathy-Ellen was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. She was cancer-free from April 2004 until December of 2013 when it was discovered that...read more

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